Visiting Israel, U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchel assures Israeli officials that the two countries will remain close allies despite differences over West Bank settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian state. A source in Cairo says that President Obama recently presented Egypt and Israel with a plan for a two-state solution to be realized by 2011.

The first Guantanamo detainee to face charges in a U.S. civilian court arrives in Manhattan. Indicted for his role in the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Ahmed Ghailani is expected to appear in court later this afternoon.

Oil-giant Shell agrees to pay a $15.5 million settlement in the case of nine environmental and human rights activists who were hung in Nigeria in 1995. Shell allegedly hired government troops to shoot protesters opposed to the construction of an oil pipeline in the Niger Delta.

Zimbabwe could be heading for a new wave of violence in the lead up to elections scheduled for 2010. Opposition leaders have been receiving threatening phone calls saying that their names are being added to an assassination list.

HIV-prevention interventions appear to be paying off in South Africa — a new study shows that infection rates in children have declined, while rates have leveled off at 10.9 percent among the general population.